


Tipping Point

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Team as Family, Volume 8 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-27 21:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30128832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: They're all safe, so why can't she relax?
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long, Penny Polendina & Ruby Rose, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 1
Kudos: 55





	Tipping Point

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Finishing all my post-V8 ideas before volume 8 leaves us on a cliffhanger? It's more likely than you'd think. Spoiler for up to episode 12 of volume 8 ahead. Content warning for descriptions of panic attacks. Enjoy!

It takes a long time to get everything settled in Vacuo. Despite the fact that they arrived in the middle of the morning, by the time they've even started to make a dent in making arrangements for all the refugees from Atlas and Mantle, and finding them places to stay, it's well past midnight, and Ruby is dead on her feet.

Suck it up, she tells herself. You brought all of these people here, so you're responsible for making sure that they're okay.

Headmaster Theodore is allowing them to stay in the Shade Academy dorms while they're in Vacuo—and if Ruby feels an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu from their stay in Atlas, she ignores it. Shade Academy is vastly different from the sleek, modern design of Atlas Academy, but at this point none of them really care so long as they have a bed to lie down in. They're assigned two rooms and instructed to get a few hours of rest before returning to continue strategizing in the morning.

After all, just because they managed to get everyone to safety, it doesn't mean that their work here is done. Salem might have been destroyed, but she's immortal—it's only a matter of time before she reforms. Cinder is out there somewhere, and Watts, and Tyrian, and Mercury. They have to stay alert and ready for whatever their next move is.

But even with her mind buzzing with thoughts and worries and what-ifs, Ruby knows that she needs to get at least a few hours of sleep if she's going to be any use tomorrow, so she does her best to quiet her mind. She, Weiss, Yang, Blake, and Penny take one room, while Jaune, Nora, Ren, Oscar, and Emerald take the other. They get ready for bed in exhausted silence, murmuring goodnights to each other as they climb into bed.

The lights go out, and Ruby shuts her eyes, settling back into the bed and willing herself to drift off quickly. Maybe for once she'll get lucky and have a peaceful night's sleep for once, free of fear and nightmares. She's certainly tired enough.

But sleep doesn't come quickly. In fact, it feels like it's not coming at all. Ruby finds herself wide awake, staring at the ceiling as the soft snores of her teammates fill the air. It's frustrating. She's exhausted, so why can't she sleep?

She keeps waiting for her body to calm down, for her fatigue to pull her under, but her mind stays stubbornly alert. Despite her efforts to relax and breathe slowly, she finds her heart beating faster and her breaths coming more quickly.

It's puzzling. They're all safe, so why can't she relax?

After everything that's happened today, she chooses to freak out now, when everything is fine?

The walls seem to be coming closer, like the room is closing in on her, and Ruby's stomach squirms with panic. She wants to run, to get out of here, to flee before anything bad happens, before her teammates can see her freaking out like this, for absolutely no reason—but she can't. Her body is frozen, leaving her paralyzed in her bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling as her thoughts spiral out of control.

What if—what if they didn't manage to get everyone out of Atlas? What if there's something they missed? What if Cinder or Watts or one of Salem's other allies is hiding among the refugees, and they've put everyone in Vacuo in danger? What if they've led everyone into a trap? What if something goes wrong with Penny's new body, and they end up losing her anyway? What if—

A loud thud from above them interrupts her train of thought. Ruby involuntarily lets out a startled yelp.

Immediately, she claps her hand over her mouth, hoping uselessly that no one heard her—but no such luck. She can hear her friends stirring sleepily. "Ruby?" Yang calls out.

Her sister sounds annoyed. Ruby tries to call back to her, to apologize, to reassure everyone that she's fine, really, nothing to worry about, nothing to see here—but the only thing that comes out is a soft groan.

"Ruby?" Weiss says, sounding wide-awake now—and worried.

Crap. Now she feels even worse.

"Ruby? You're crying?" Blake. Somehow, her friends have managed to surround her bunk without her noticing, looking at her with concerned expressions. Absently, she brings a hand up to touch her face. It comes away wet.

Huh. She doesn't remember when she started crying.

Her breathing starts to pick up again, and she hears someone—she thinks it's Yang—curse quietly. The bed shifts behind her, and she feels herself being pulled upright and leaned against a broad chest. "C'mon, Ruby, breathe," her sister urges her.

Ruby is starting to feel lightheaded, but the presence of her sister at her back and her friends at her sides is grounding. Slowly, carefully, she manages to force herself to stop her frantic panting and match her sister's slower, deeper, breaths. When she opens her eyes—when did she close them? –her vision is blurry with tears, and everyone is looking at her with even more worry than before.

"Better?" Yang asks quietly, brushing Ruby's bangs out of her face. Ruby nods slightly, leaning back heavily against her sister. If possible, she feels even more exhausted than when Professor Theodore dismissed them.

"Ruby, what was that?" Weiss asks, her tone sharp with worry.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Blake suggests quietly. Ruby shakes her head.

"No, I—" she pauses, clearing her throat when her voice comes out as a hoarse croak. "I couldn't sleep, so I was just thinking about stuff, and then I started freaking out for some reason. Sorry, guys."

"You don't need to apologize, dolt," Weiss admonishes her, but there's no real bite to it.

"It looked like you were having a panic attack," Blake says, watching Ruby carefully with her piercing golden eyes.

"You must've really been thinking hard to freak yourself out like that, sis." Ruby can feel Yang rubbing gentle circles on her shoulders, slowly but surely easing the tension out of her body.

"What were you thinking about, Ruby?" Penny asks anxiously, her bright green eyes wide with alarm.

Ruby sighs heavily. "Just—everything," she says lamely, giving a watery chuckle. "Whether we managed to get everyone out safely, what Cinder and the others might be plotting and where they are, if something goes wrong with Penny, if we've all walked into some kind of trap—" She cuts herself off when she feels tears pricking at her eyes. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"Don't be," Weiss says firmly, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

"It's been a really stressful past couple of days," Blake assures her. "You have every right to be stressed."

Penny nods, her face set with determination. "Whatever happens next, you won't be alone, I promise."

"We've all got your back, sis. Now, what do you say we all try to get some sleep?" Ruby tenses. She's not sure that she's ready to be alone right now. "And, since it's our first night together in a strange place, how about we all bunk together and have a sleepover?"

As she drifts off, surrounded by her friends, Ruby can finally feel herself unwinding. Whatever the future holds, she won't be facing it alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it. Also, if you like one of my ideas and want to write your own fic for it, feel free! I'm not possessive with my ideas, and most of my writing is self-indulgent anyway, so all that I ask is that you let me know so I can read it.


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